We repeat....

Day 3: Northants 333 and 416 for 8 dec v Glos 296 and 35 for 0

Yesterday the Jessop Tavern View wrote about Gloucestershire's love of getting into promising positions only to throw them away. What we also didn't add was that Glos also had the uncanny ability to turn potentially winning situations into not just losing ones, but to turn them into positions of comprehensive defeats.

Today the Shire did just that. The first session was always going to be key. The first hour doubly so. Gloucestershire's still raw seam attack got stuck in and performed wonderfully taking 3 key wickets. And then the wheels came off. 100 for 5 became 418 for 8 off the back of some belligerent hitting from David Willey. Willey isn't exactly the first bowler to register his maiden first class ton against the Shire, but the way in which he dismissed James Fuller in particular will be a worry moving forward.

Cricket is always about recognising key passages of play and then finding the extra gear to seize these moments. Gloucestershire clearly talked about this today. Recognised that the first hour was crucial. Then set about their task fantastically well. Sadly no one had told them to keep their foot on the oppositions throat once the moment was seized.

If King John were still here he would tell us all about how this is a young team still learning their trade. Since he isn't around it was left to new coach Richard Dawson to be quoted after the day's play as saying "Myself and Ian Harvey were sat there thinking why would this happen?" Perhaps a read of the Jessop Tavern View back catalogue will provide him with at least some context.

The Shire didn't help themselves with several shelled catches at crucial moments however and the pre-season concerns over the bowling unit were very evidently highlighted today. Let's hope the boys can turn it around else it could be a long season. With 418 to score in a day it would take something pretty remarkable tomorrow for this match to be turned around.

Video highlights from Day 3 are below: